Mordanting, weighting, and dyeing



Patented a. 10, 1933 PATENT OFFICE 1,930,226 MORDANTING, WEIGHTING, AND DYEING William Alexander Dickie and Frank Brentnall Hill, Spondon, near Derby, England, assignors to Celanese Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware No Drawing.

Application June 28, 1930, Serial No. 464,700, and in-, Great Britain August 7,

6 Claims.

This invention relates to improved processes for the incorporation of metallic radicles in filaments, yarns, threads, fabrics, ribbons, films or other materials and for the mordant dyeing thereof.

In the ordinary processes of mordanting and weighting the metal is applied to the material in the-form-of an aqueous solution of a salt of a mordant or weighting metal. We have made the surprising discovery that efiicient mordanting and weighting of textile fabrics and other materials may be obtained by treating the material with a stream of the metal oxide or of the metal itself in the form of particles travelling at high 5 speed. In the case of treating the fabric with the metal itself the metal used shouldbe readily oxidizable on the fabric. This result is remarkable since it would be expected that the metal or metal oxide would form a superficial coating on the ma- -.2 terial incapable of yielding satisfactory dyeings with mordant dyestufis.

According to the present invention therefore textile or other materials are mordanted or weighted and mordant dyeing rendered possible by treating the materials with a high speed stream of metal oxide or metal. We find that materials made of or containing cellulose acetate or other cellulose esters or ethers or made of or containing natural silk are especially amenable to this new method of treatment.

The best method of carrying the present invention into effect consists in projecting the metal itself and oxidizing it to the metal oxide during passagev to the material; The invention does however include the case in which the metal itself is applied to the material and is subsequent- -ly oxidized.

The Schoop apparatus for metallizing is particularly suitable for use according to the pres- 4 ent invention. In this apparatus the metal in the form of a ribbon, wire or the like is fed into a piston in which it is fused, disintegrated and projected at high speed. The usual means adopted. toeffect this comprises an oxy-hydrogen or oxygen-coal gas flamefor the fusing and disintegration of the metal and a high speed air draught for its projection. If the oxy-hydrogen or oxygen coal gas flame be used according to the present invention for fusing the metals which are 'dur- 0 ing passage to the fabric or material to be converted into the oxide, the actual conversion to oxide is preferably effected either by suitable adjustment of the relative proportions of oxygen and hydrogen or coal gas supplied to the pistol orby ensuring that the metal in transit to the material comes into contact with or is carried by an atmosphere of suitable oxidizing power. Most conveniently-the proportion of oxygen supplied to the fiame is increased.

It will be appreciated that the process may be applied to the treatment of the whole of the fabric or material or to the treatment of the material in any desired pattern. Filaments, yarns, threads or the like may, for example, be treated intermittently along their length by passage of the moving filaments, yarns or threads through a stream of metal or metal oxide moving at high speed, the filaments, yarns, threads, etc., being shielded intermittently from the stream by P ri-- odic interposition of a suitable obstacle. Again, fabrics may be treated in any desired design by projecting the metal oxide or the like through a suitable stencil. It is desirable that the incorporation of the metallic radicle shall take place as uniformly as possible so that upon applying a mordant or other dyestuff a substantially uniform shade will result.

In the case of projecting a metal and oxidizing it during passage to the fabric or material, the relative proportions of metal oxide and of metal may be adjusted to any desired value so that a simultaneous mordanting and metallizing of the" material may take place. The actual metal so deposited may be left with a frosted appearance in the form in which it is deposited or it may be burnished by rubbing, for example in a finishing process by the button breaker or by calendering. On the other hand, if desired, effects may be produced by a local bumishing of the metallized material, so that some portions of the material present a frosted appearance, while others present a metallic sheen.

Any suitable mordant metals, that is -to say metals capable of yielding lakeshades with mordant dyestuffs, or weighting metals may be em- 5 ployed for the purpose of the present invention. As examples we may instance zinc, tin and aluminium. Alloys of two or inore metals may be employed, for example alloys of one or more mordant metals with one or more non-mordant 1 9 metals, the metals or alloys being preferably chosen so that" they have as low amelting point as possible in the case of applying them. by the fusing and disintegrating process described above.

Mordant dyestufls may be applied to materials mordanted according to the present invention by any suitable dyeing, printing, stencilling or like process and are preferably applied after the mordanting operation. If however the mordant 11 dyestuff has a substantive aflinity for the fibre or material under treatment or can be otherwise suitably applied, its application may take place before the actual mordanting. A large number of mordant dyestuffs have a substantive aifinity for cellulose acetate or other cellulose esters and ethers and can therefore be applied before the actual mordanting. If the mordant metal has been applied locally it is preferable to employ mordant dyestufis which have no substantive affinity for the fibre under treatment, since by this means the possibility of staining the unmordanted portions of the material may be avoided.

Alternatively the mordant dyestuff may be applied during the mordanting operation. For example, a solution of a mordant dyestufl may be applied to the material during mordanting, and if local effects are required the solution may be sprayed through the same stencil as that used to produce the local mordanting. In the case of cellulose acetate or other cellulose esters or ethers we. prefer to use organic solutions for this spray method of application, (see prior U. S. patent application S. No. 273,436 of 27th April, 1928).

The invention is broadly applicable to the mordanting, weighting and mordant dyeing of any materials, for example materials containing natural silk, cotton, wool, or the cellulosic type of artificial silk, but is productive of the best results when applied to materials made of or containing natural silk or cellulose acetate or other cellulose esters, for example cellulose formate, cellulose propionate, or cellulose butyrate, or made of or containing cellulose ethers, for example methyl cellulose, ethyl cellulose, or benzyl cellulose. In the case of mordanting an increase in weight of the material of 1-2% is usually sufficient but the process is suscepticle of effecting an increase in weight of 10-20% or more on the weight of the material so that true weighting is possible. The weighting as is known confers upon cellulose ester materials an affinity for certain dyestuffs for which they have little or no aflinity in the unweighted state, e. g. the substantive cotton colours.

The following example shows the best method known to us for carrying the invention intweffect, but is not to be considered as limiting the invention in any way:-

Example A cellulose acetate woven fabric is sprayed with zinc oxide as follows:.-A Schoop pistol is fed with zinc wire of 1.5 mm. diameter and the air draught regulated so that the wire is consumed at a rate of about 50-55 metres per hour. The combustible gases are oxygen and coal-gas or hydrogen, the consumption of oxygen being regulated to about 40-50 cu. ft. per hour and that pf the hydrogen to about 70 cu. ft. per hour or in the case of coal-gas about 50 cu. ft. per hour. The fabric may be sprayed uniformly or in any desired pattern with the aid of a suitable stencil sheet. The spraying is stopped when the required amount of metal oxide has been incorporated in the material. In the case of mordant dyeing a 2%. increase in weight is sufficient while if a weighting is required the process may be carried on until the desired amount of weighting metal has been incorporated in the material. The fabric so mordanted or weighted may then be dyed with any suitable dyestuff. Thus for example a fabric uniformly sprayed with zinc oxide as described above so as to show an increase in weight of 2% may be dyed with 2% of alizarin blue A for 1 hour at C. and finally rinsed and dried. A deep blue shade is thus obtained.

What We claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. Process for coloring textile materials containing organic derivatives of cellulose, comprising incorporating finely divided particles therein by exposing them to a high velocity particle stream formed by disintegration of a mordant metal, at least a portion of such particles being oxidized during their transit to the material, and coloring the materials with a mordant dyestufi,

2. Process for coloring textile materials containing cellulose acetate, comprising incorporating finely divided particles therein by exposing them to a high velocity particle stream formed by disintegration of a mordantmetal, at least a portion of such particles being oxidized during their transit to the material, and coloring the materials with a mordant dyestufi'.

3. Process for coloring textile materials containing cellulose acetate, comprising incorporating finely divided particles therein by exposing them to a high velocity particle stream formed by disintegration of a mordant metal, a portion only of such particles being oxidized during their transit to the material, and coloring the materials with a mordant dyestuff.

4. Process for coloring textile materials containing cellulose acetate, comprising incorporating finely divided particles therein by exposing them to a high velocity particle stream formed by the disintegration of metallic zinc, oxidizing a portion of such stream during transit to the materials, and coloring the materials with a mordant dyestufr.

5. Process for coloring textile materials containing cellulose acetate, comprising fusing and disintegrating metallic zinc by means of an oxygen-coal-gas flame, projecting the particles formed by means of a gaseous current, oxidizing a portion thereof during transit to the materials, and subsequently coloring the materials with a mordant (LVestufl'.

6. Process for coloring textile materials which comprises incorporating finely divided particles therein by exposing them to a high velocity particle stream containing a metal and a mordant metal oxide, and coloringthe materials with a mordant dyestuff.

. WILLIAM ALEXANDER DICKIE.

FRANK BRENTNALL HILL. 1' 

